Title: The Family God Keeps
Isaiah 27:2-4
There is a 94-year-old healthy widow who has served God for over 30 years in a church. Until 6 years ago, you lived in a shabby single room about 2 pyeong. It's cramped every time we worship in the district, so I said, "The house looks like it's going to collapse, so I hope you can buy it comfortably by asking your son in Seoul to build a house of 10 pyeong." The grandmother said, "The house doesn't collapse. You are going to die soon, so what are you building a new house for?'
In early summer in June 2003, the sky was clear and the countryside was peaceful. That morning, while Grandma was having a Sunday service, the house collapsed without any reason. When I ran to the site, I was touched by the terrible sight. How would you describe this! I still vividly remember that God saved the life of Grandma Hwang, who kept the Sunday worship service, and I give thanks. My grandmother is now building a new house of 10 pyeong and living a healthy and peaceful old age. God protects families who keep His Word. “Because you have kept the word of my patience, I will also keep you from the hour of temptation” (Revelation 3:10).
God protects his people as the apple of the eye of God. (Deuteronomy 32:10) Those who hear the word of God and keep it are like those who build a house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25). throws away The family of the priest Eli who abandoned the Word was abandoned (1 Samuel 2:22-34), and King Saul and his family were abandoned. I hope that you will become a family that sincerely keeps the word of God.
“Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
Once upon a time, the father-in-law was watching his daughter-in-law making red bean porridge. It was tasty and appetizing. However, the daughter-in-law is sweating and running runny nose while making red bean soup, and the runny nose is dripping into the red bean soup. The daughter-in-law did not know that, and gave the red bean porridge to her father-in-law and told him to eat it deliciously. When the father-in-law saw that the runny nose fell, he said to his daughter-in-law as if to taunt him. "Do you know how to clean food?" I wondered if the daughter-in-law was talking about the report of a runny nose, but she answered with an alumni response. “Father, not looking at food while making it is the way to clean it.”
If you look at the text of the text, it says, “I, the LORD, am the keeper of the vineyard.” These words express our God as the keeper of the vineyard. God is the keeper of the vineyard, and the vineyard represents Israel. God works for Israel just as a farmer takes care of a vineyard and takes care of it. Also, in the New Testament, the vineyard becomes a symbol of the church. It means that God is the one who always protects and guides the church that becomes the vineyard from the world, evil, and Satan.
And this vineyard is also our home. Our home with parents, husbands, wives, and children is also a [God's vineyard] that needs God's protection. That's right. In today's harsh and evil world, our homes must be vineyards guarded by God. In addition, we must acknowledge our homes as God's vineyards, not ours, so that God can protect them, nurture them, and take care of them. We must leave it to God. You must ask God.
It is virtuous when the families of our believers are happy. When children grow up upright and prosperous, they do not hide the glory of God. But what about looking at the world? Numerous bad circumstances and forces of evil, lewd things, diseases, incidents, accidents, and cults lurk in to destroy the home that should be sacred and the home that should be happy, making them sick, breaking them, and misleading their children. are doing Because of this, it is difficult to protect the vineyard called the family with only our human strength, and moreover, only with our own strength. God's help is absolutely necessary to protect our families in today's world where there are many evil things and unjust accidents. Therefore, how to protect our family can be found in today's text. “I, the Lord, am the keeper of the vineyard,” he said. The way is to be protected by God. This method is the safest and most complete.
“The Lord will guard your entrance from now on to everlasting” (Psalm 121:8).
“You keep me as the pupil of the eye, and hide me under the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 17:8).
I have a question for you. What is God doing when we are in trouble? What is God doing when there is a hole in the lifeboat and water starts to come in, when the parachute line is cut off, and when the last coin left while you are trying to pay the money falls and disappears? We know what we're going to do when that happens. Biting your nails, walking down the hallways, and taking sedatives like you're eating corn on a cob. Then what is God doing? He fights for us. He jumps into the ring, sends us back to the corner, and then fights for us.
“The Lord will fight for you; be still” (Exodus 14:14).
The Lord's job is to fight to keep us from evil forces. Our job is to believe. You just have to believe it. No oversight, no questions asked. Praying and waiting, that's up to us. God loves and protects our family. Hallelujah.
* Prayer: Our Rock and Refuge, Lord, add faith to my faith. So, no matter what difficulties you face, do not lose faith that you are in God's hands. The Lord is the Almighty God who protects and protects our family. Help me to ask for your help by calling on your name whenever I am in trouble. May the Lord always be the owner of our home, and make it a blessed home for us to walk with you. Let our family be a home that is full of love and peace, a home that is a light to our neighbors. Please guide me to live a life of serving God, loving children, and helping others in a family that has been granted by God's blessing. We pray in the name of our Savior Jesus. Amen